Match Reports: Round 8 2016

SENIORS
By Sandy Stewart

Damp and dreary conditions greeted the Senior team as they arrived to support the Reserves. Despite winter having finally arrived, Lady Como, The Nugget Bar and indeed the whole pavilion was electrified as the first Pivot Club Lunch of 2016 was taking place. The boys were huddled undercover on the front steps of the pavilion; a rather motley crew, serving as a makeshift welcoming party for those arriving late to lunch.

Having notched up our first away win for the season over Whitefriars the week before, we were looking to build some momentum and make it two in a row against Old Paradians. Positive vibes and a thirst for ‘success’ were brought to the fore on Thursday night, when training culminated in the Senior team being presented their special hybrid jumpers by Mark ‘I’m a bit nervous, but I’ll nail this speech anyway’ Leslie.

A boxing component was incorporated into the warm up, in an attempt to ‘combat’ sluggish recent starts. It proved to make a difference as we dominated inside 50’s early. Returning to the senior team, Sandon ‘whiskas purple patch’ James made a positive impact on the first quarter with his presence at half-forward. George ‘Tall and small’ Burbury set the standard for forward pressure and all round attack on the footy as he played one-out from the goal square. At the other end of the ground, Charles ‘Just look at me funny and I’ll laugh’ Burbury made his Senior debut. It was a special day for the Burbury clan with the two cousins playing senior footy together for the first time.

Before running out after the main break Andrew ‘Skipper’ Leahy challenged his men to come out firing on all cylinders and assert some dominance over the opposition who hadn’t won a game this season. 13 scoring shots to 3 in the third quarter reflected the powerhouse that is the OGs midfield, despite the opposition’s apparent attempt at congesting the stoppages to limit the inevitable damage.

Typical Melbourne weather patterns saw the sun shining in the last quarter as the OGs kicking towards the pavilion and the vocal Pivot Club members. Cal ‘mud on your boots’ Wood started to find his groove and plucked everything that came his way and his relentless work-rate and innate ability to get to the right spot at the right time secured him the BOG title. Forward Coach Andrew ‘maybe I should pull on the boots and show you how’ Mills has been reported to have invested heavily in anti-grey hair dye, as the team continues to kick more behinds than majors!

Nonetheless, we take the four points and the momentum into this week’s clash with top-of-the-table Old Mentonians. A win this week will place us inside the top four and well on our way to finals in 2016.

What I thought was funny:

Matt Young not wanting to go on the ground before the game because his shoes might get dirty

Rorey James attempting to box in the warm up

Cal Wood’s sledge on his tattooed opponent

RESERVES
By Peter Lynch

Coming off the afterglow of Andy “I’ve got the” Powers 100th the side had to remain focused despite playing the bottom of the table Paradians at Lady Como. Conditions were polar opposite to last week’s crisp conditions; the air was frigid, the ground soggy and dew still smattered the ground.

In the less than ideal conditions the OGs started slowly, as they adjusted to the conditions. However, the team started to take to the conditions and soon started to get on top after a steady bomb from McCormack.

The second quarter saw the boys find their grove, taking notes out of John “I’m a Pig, Hear me Oink” Forster’s ‘playing like mug pigs’ handbook. Andy Power kicked a quick brace that saw the Paradians start to lose their cool, as their lip increased. The back six held steady with some fantastic drive and play making by Nick O’Hare. Going into the break the OGs were in a great position as the conditions improved.

Going into the third quarter with opposition scoreless the OGs were keen to get back out there and continue to build the right fundamentals of a championship team. As Joe “Is Turning Out to be the Better” Kemp helped the boys build on the lead, the team was disappointed as near the end of the term the Paradian’s scored a very unlikely goal from the boundary.

The final quarter saw the OGs continue the domination in the trying conditions. Andy de “Frenchman” Fegely continued his solid season leading from the middle, with some handy ruck work for Tom “I’m a Chef, I Can Feed Myself” Wigan. The win further solidifying the OGs as serious finals contenders, the hard work must be carried through over the next fews week as this is where Championships are built. Big thanks to the ever reliable Lefty “Right” Wright, the trainers and all those who helped out on the day.

UNDER 19s
By Jonathon Thomson

The Unders arrived at St Bernard’s knowing full well that the job ahead was vitally important in terms of our goals for the remainder of the year. As the rain came down early in the game we failed to capitalise on the opportunities that presented themselves early kicking 0.6 and finding ourselves behind in the first quarter.

After a well-directed quarter time address by Matthew “Pop Your” Collister “And the Ladies Hollister” the team came out in the second quarter ready to pile on the pressure with Tim “Twiggy” Breadmore and Shaggy “Wheels around on the left” Tivendale leading the way in the midfield. When the ball went forward the tackling pressure from Max “Eyes for the Ball” Newman, Harrison “Falcon” Fraser was massive laying plenty of them throughout the game. The games momentum was starting to sway in our direction by the end of the quarter leading by 4 points with the score of 2.12 to their 3.2.

After half time the rain restarted and the team came out with a renewed sense of focus for the third quarter. Around the ball we started where we left off in the second term with George “Buckets” Manton and Ted “gets disposals for fun” Strapp upping their work while Will “Skipper ” Griffiths provided a great option for the half backs such as Harrison “Runs in Straight Lines” Stewart and Louis “loves to bust tackles” de Moor. This work gave us a lead of 16 points at the third and final break.

In the last quarter the rain began to ease off and with only two on the bench compared to six for St Bernard’s they were not going to give up easily. Our backline as they did all day lead by Rupert “Loves a Chest Mark” Kebbell and Ed “Golden Fist” Gubbins leading the way with Ed getting a shot on goal late in the peace which he unfortunately missed. In all it was a great win by the boys by 33 points and everyone played really well which was the best part about it and made the win even more enjoyable.